


Mornings

by PrinnPrick



Series: (Don't Assume You Know) How to Dad [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Child roxas, Emotional Support Cat, Family, Family Fluff, I wish I knew how to cook an omelet, M/M, Service Animal, Strifehart, business dad leon, child tidus, cloud and leon talk for the first time, cloud still knows how to be nice to other people's kids, frazzled dad cloud, medical cat, school day mornings, sleep problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22976173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinnPrick/pseuds/PrinnPrick
Summary: This story I have decided to make not so linear, but only because the next two drafts I have are waaaay out of order. This one and the first one are 100% in order, though.When I get to about six or so of these I'll start making an official key for what goes where.
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Leon (Kingdom Hearts)/Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife
Series: (Don't Assume You Know) How to Dad [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643176
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	Mornings

**Author's Note:**

> This story I have decided to make not so linear, but only because the next two drafts I have are waaaay out of order. This one and the first one are 100% in order, though.
> 
> When I get to about six or so of these I'll start making an official key for what goes where.

Tiny feet padded across the wooden floors toward the bed. He had learned how to open doors a while ago, so he didn't need to cry for help. A soft mew emanated from the floor and a bright orange, fluffy tail swished behind him. 

Red XIII hopped onto the bed where his blonde master slept, or rather where his body laid clenched--stuck in the throes of a growing nightmare. He wasn't screaming this time, so Red took that as a good sign. However, he knew it would turn unless Cloud was woken, so he gently stuck his cold nose right into the man's ear.

Cloud awoke with a start and a startled cry. It took him a second, but as Cloud jerked himself around to get a bearing on his surroundings he quickly calmed back down. Red nuzzled Cloud's shaky hand until the blonde began to pat and scratch his head.

"... Good mornin', you butt," Cloud murmured as Red XIII purred. The cat climbed onto Cloud's chest carefully until he could nest comfortably near his neck and bump his head against Cloud's chin. Cloud sighed, slow and deep, as his blood pressure returned to normal. Once it had, Red mewed in his oddly deep voice and crawled away again to settle on the bedside table.

Cloud sat up slowly and scratched his head. He turned his glassy-blue eyes on the feline, who began to chirp. He sat beside a medicine bottle which the cat tapped lightly with one paw.

"Yeah, yeah..." Cloud murmured grumpily as he grabbed the bottle. He didn't bother with water, despite how weird it felt to swallow a pill almost dry. 

"Come'ere, fuzzball.." Cloud commanded gently as he rubbed his fingers together. Red obediently went to flop in the blonde's lap and purred once more as Cloud spent the first ten minutes of his day rubbing the cat's cheeks and chin. Red playfully swat his tail in Cloud's face.

"Okay. I need to get up now... I have two little monsters and a walking hairball to feed."

Red XIII merely flipped onto his back with a smile and chirped for more attention. Cloud rolled his eyes and picked his orange puff up like a baby--on his back, secured in Cloud's arm--before heading out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen.

*****

The alarm went off before the sun had even begun to rise. Leon drowsily pressed the little red off button on the side of the machine before he sat up with a yawn and at least three cricks in his neck. The brunette stretched his arms high above his head and began his usual routine of warm-up stretches to get his mind in gear for the day. Once those were done, it was time for a shower and to get breakfast ready...

But before he went to get cleaned up, Leon quietly tip-toed to Sora's room and peeked in through the crack in his door. Sora was almost hidden in his enormous pile of stuffed animals, but he hated having his face covered so he wasn't worried about the boy suffocating. Leon spied one tiny foot hanging off the end, one petite hand on a pillow, and could hear him snoring. The brunette father smiled to himself and quietly made his way back to his room for a hot shower.

_It's Wednesday so he'll be expecting bacon and grits. Hopefully he'll like the plant-based butter I bought... We need to eat healthier._

*****

Red XIII was on his usual seat (a scratching post pillar with a bed on top) as he watched Cloud flip the omelet over before setting it on a plate.

Cloud yawned so hard his jaw had clicked, which prompted Cloud to rub his face with a groan. _That was unpleasant..._ He thought as he climbed the stairs to the second floor where his sons' bedrooms were. 

The first door belonged to Roxas, who often had trouble sleeping. Cloud didn't even bother to try and wake him first--he merely walked in as silent as a shadow, untucked the boy from his unkempt sheets, and rolled Roxas onto his shoulder where the tiny blonde began to murmur exhausted protests.

The second door was Tidus, who usually slept fine (the only one in the house who did, in fact), but was still a pain to wake. There were some mornings Cloud would get frustrated and just bang two pots together to force the boy up. Today was a lucky one, though--Tidus was up and already dressed for school.

"Dad! You're not even dressed!" Tidus said with distress as he hopped off the bed.

"... Not that I'm complainin', but what's the occasion?"

"Did you forget?!" Tidus sounded genuinely alarmed, which caused Cloud's brows to scrunch together. "Try-outs, dad! They start in an hour!"

Cloud blinked as he tried to force his sluggish brain to recall what Tidus was talking about.

Tidus huffed. "Blitzball, daddy!! They're doing little league try-outs today, and you said if I made an 'A' on my math test you'd let me!"

 _Ohhhh yeeaaah... But I only made that promise 'cause you're so bad at math._ Cloud sighed. _I didn't expect you to actually do it. But... A promise is a promise._ "Fine, but breakfast first! I made bacon, ham, and cheddar omelets."

Tidus flew about Cloud's legs as fast as the cat might, or tried to. Cloud caught him before he could try to rush down the stairs.

"No running in the house! You break your neck and you can kiss your dreams of being a professional player good bye, T."

*****

Sora rubbed his eye as he dragged an over-sized rabbit doll behind him. It was nearly as tall as the boy himself, brown like his hair, and had a grumpy expression sewn on.

Leon looked to see his sleepy baby walking into the kitchen with a chuckle.

"Don't drag Mr. Brown around like that if you don't want him to get damaged, Sunshine."

In response, Sora merely let the doll go at the entrance and wobbled to his father until he could hug his legs.

"Hungry, daddy..."

"Your breakfast is on the table, monkey. I'll be there when I'm done making mine."

Sora nodded and stretched his arms high above his head.

"Sora, go put Mr. Brown back in your room, please!" Leon called as he turned his bacon over.

Sora whined, but did as he was told. He went to grab his toy and hugged it tight into his arms, but instead of going to his bedroom he walked to the kitchen table.

"Mr. Brown is hungry, too, daddy," Sora explained as he pulled a chair out and lightly tossed the big bunny into it. Sora's seat was next to him with an extra cushion on top due to his small stature.

"Don't actually feed him, okay? It's grits."

"Can I feed him bacon?"

"No, monkey, that's greasy."

"Then what do I feed him?"

"I'll bring some fresh carrots. Bunnies love carrots."

Sora hopped into his seat with only mild difficulty. Of course the first thing Sora began to snack on was the bacon, which caused him to hum in delight. As promised, Leon brought a plate of carrots to the table for the rabbit as he grabbed a seat himself.

However, before he could get too comfortable Leon sighed heavily. There was already a Bluetooth in his ear and the man was ready to leave for the day but for his suit jacket. He clicked his ear piece on.

"This better be good, Bartz. I'm having breakfast with my son."

Sora couldn't hear the whole conversation, but he would still look up at Leon curiously. Leon made sure to keep his voice even and polite, though there was a silent threat underneath that the boy wasn't keen enough in his young age to detect yet.

When Leon saw his son looking up at him, he smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair. That had Sora giggling between a mouthful of grits.

"I forgot to get us drinks. What would you like? No, Bartz, not you--I was talking to Sora."

*****

"Don't scarf it down, T! You have plenty of time. You'll get your stomach upset, and then how ya gonna do well at try-outs?" Cloud harped as he tugged a fresh shirt over Roxas's head at the table between bites of toast. "And drink all your juice!"

"Orange juice is _gross_!"

"So is most anythin' that's good for you. Now drink or else I might conveniently find extra traffic on the way to school!"

Tidus grumbled, but did his best to drink the whole glass... while grimacing.

"Daddy," Roxas said softly as he put his hands on Cloud's cheeks to get his attention. "... Can I be allergic to school?"

Cloud chuckled. "Why you ask, baby?"

"'Cause I get hives thinkin' about it."

"Do you even know what hives are?"

"They're when bees live in your skin, right?"

Cloud blinked and quirked a brow. "... Why do you think that?"

"Axel said you get hives when your skin is allergic to stuff, and he's allergic to bees and bees make hives."

Cloud chortled softly. "No, baby... Hives are really bad rashes."

"Rashes?"

"You remember that nasty red spot you had after you walked through some poison ivy at the campin' trip last year?"

"Yeah?"

"It's like that, but worse."

Roxas looked horrified.

*****

"Daddy, do you hafta leave me early today?" Sora asked with a pout as they arrived early to the school. There was a daycare program of sorts that would take students in early and keep them after late for parents with strange schedules. 

"Yes, Sunshine," Leon didn't sound happy about it, though. He looked at his boy regretfully as he unbuckled him from the seat and helped Sora climb out. 

"But you love me!" Sora insisted.

"I thought you liked school, monkey?" Leon kneeled down to be at eye level with the boy.

"I doooo... I just like you more." Sora pouted sadly.

"..." Leon bumped their foreheads together gently. "I love you so much more than anything else, Sora, and if I had my way we would spend long breakfasts together and I would drop you off right before class so you don't have to wait around, but I can't."

"I know..." Sora sniffed, just before he flung his arms around Leon's neck and squeezed. "I love you, daddy!"

"I love you, too, monkey... Now let's get inside so you can learn. You can tell me all about it at dinner tonight, okay?"

Another vehicle pulled up just as Leon was closing the door to the car. He quirked a brow at the familiar van once again being driven by a very tired looking blonde, who hopped out with a yawn so wide he apparently hurt himself (if the sudden jolt and then rubbing the side of his face was any indication. Could also have a toothache, he supposed).

 _Whatever. It's none of my business._

Leon stood straight with one of Sora's hands held firmly in his, but instead of walking with his father Sora gasped and began to wave frantically.

"Roxas! Hi, Roxas!" Sora called just as a small blonde, almost Sora's size, came half-tumbling out of the van. 

Roxas looked up as Sora jerked away from Leon without thinking and darted across the lawn at his friend. Leon gave chase, but he looked more impatient than anything. The blonde huffed and glared as Sora approached, but though he didn't return the affection he did allow Sora to hug him.

The blonde man blinked as he closed the van up behind him once what was clearly Roxas's older brother stepped out.

"Roxas," the blonde man's voice was smooth, and now that Leon could see him up close he noted the other dad was... actually kind of pretty. Clearly exhausted, but handsome. He also had a number of visible scars on his bare arms and neck. "Who is this?"

"Sorry," Leon offered half-heartedly as he arrived to stand beside the small group. He chuckled as Sora put Roxas into a death grip. "That's my son Sora." Leon had decided to answer for the boy, who wasn't paying attention. As he wanted to make a good impression on other parents whom might be raising Sora's future friends, he offered a frown that was at least neutral rather than his usual annoyed mien. "I'm Leon."

"Don't be. He's cute, and Roxas could use more friends," the man shrugged and offered a tiny smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Cloud, that's Roxas, and the impatient kid running into the school was my other son Tidus."

"Why is he so... rushed?"

"Try-outs for that blitzball junior thing..."

"Ah."

"Daddy, help!" Roxas cried as he tried to pry Sora off.

Cloud laughed and bent down to tap Sora on the shoulder with another smile. "Hey, Sora?"

Sora blinked and paused cuddling Roxas, but didn't loosen his grip. "... Yes?"

"Can you let Roxas go, please?"

"Huh?" Sora looked at Roxas, who was glaring at him. He let go immediately and grinned. "Sorry! I got excited!"

"That's all right, but Roxas doesn't really like tight hugs... He likes little hugs."

"Little hugs?"

"Like you just give a quick squeeze and let go."

Leon was oddly impressed with how easy it was for Cloud to speak to Sora on a level he understood that didn't sound recriminating or condescending. Most spoke to Sora, to a good deal of kids, as if children were below them or stupid rather than a tiny person still evolving.

"Oh," Sora looked sheepishly at Roxas, who only crossed his arms and pouted. "Sorry..."

Cloud nudged Roxas when he said nothing for several seconds and gave him a warning look. Roxas sighed and let his arms go loose.

"It's okay..."

"Are you gonna be in day care this morning?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna play with me, then?"

"Sure, okay."

Sora beamed and turned back to Leon with the proudest look on his face. "Okay! I'm ready to go in, daddy."

Leon chuckled. "Glad you came around, I guess..."

*****

They began to walk toward the school together. Cloud peered over at the brunette man, who still had the prettiest eyes Cloud had ever seen. They were even bluer up close, and their color was fascinating--probably very rare. On top of that Leon had hair that was milk-chocolate and skin with undertones of olive; he had the kind of perfect skin that made a person wonder what it might taste like if you licked them. With that thought, Cloud turned away before he could be considered rude or weird.

"... Are you new to the neighborhood?" Cloud decided to ask as he followed the brunette. He hadn't dropped his boys off so early before, so he had no clue where to go.

"No."

There was only one kindergarten and pre-school around.

 _Probably home schooled, then._ "I see."

Things grew quiet, beyond Sora's shoes slapping the stone floor as he jogged the last few feet to the right door. He opened it for Roxas, who mumbled a "thank you".

"Uh... Do I have to sign paperwork to leave him?" Cloud asked as Leon waved goodbye a final time to Sora and turned.

"I didn't, but you should probably introduce yourself so they know he's a student here."

Cloud felt awkward and dumb as he nodded. "Ah, right..."

Leon paused a few steps down the hall. Cloud had been watching him go and wondering if there was more he could say (if their sons were going to be friends then he felt he should at least know the man a little). 

"It was... nice to meet you," Leon offered with a quick glance over his shoulder. Then the man clicked on an earpiece Cloud hadn't noticed as he made his way out. "Better be good, Bartz..."

"You, too." Cloud offered the brunette's back a rueful smile. _Heh... He is pretty hot. Oh well... Guess I better go make sure they don't think my kid is some stranger... Then I get to go home and clean. Hurrah._

**Author's Note:**

> So, cats can't technically be considered "Service Animals" as that requires an ability to lead the blind around, but they are capable of being trained to help emotionally with nightmares, stress, anger, and fits. Some are even trained to remind their owners about taking their meds. Mine is for when I have fits. :3 She's my old lady--turns 13 this year. I hope she sticks around for another ten or more (I love my old baby).


End file.
